Tag: united kingdom

Mobile payments picking up steam in the UK

| March 14, 2013

UK Mobile PaymentsUK mobile payments spark innovation and the founding of new companies

The United Kingdom is emerging as a hub for innovation in the world of mobile payments. The country boasts of high penetration when it comes to mobile technology, with a massive number of consumers having access to smartphones and tablets. Several of the country’s largest retailers, including Tesco, have begun embracing mobile payments very aggressively, making mobile commerce much more popular among British consumers. The growing popularity of mobile payments has lead to the emergence of new companies that aim to establish a formidable force in the evolving state of commerce. Droplet is one such company.

Droplet finds success in UK mobile commerce

Droplet is a mobile payments firm, which released a mobile application of the same name earlier this year. The Droplet application allows users to purchase goods and services using their mobile device. Users can transfer funds to others as well, free of charge. Droplet recently closed a successful beta testing phase for the application, wherein it saw significant success in consumer adoption. Backed by this success, the application is heading to London, where it aims to spark a commerce revolution.

Droplet sees major growth through beta testing phase

Commerce is becoming increasingly mobile-centric. Many consumers in the United Kingdom are becoming more comfortable with the concept of mobile payments, making it more likely for these consumers to make purchases directly from their smartphones and tablets. In Birmingham, where Droplet’s beta phase was focused, more than 60 merchants signed up for the firm’s services and more than 2,500 consumers downloaded the Droplet application in order to make mobile payments. In London, Droplet expects to see those numbers rise exponentially.

Mobile payments to become more attractive in London

Droplet will become more than a mobile payments platform in the coming weeks. Droplet Tools is currently in development and will serve as a platform that will enable applications developers to create customized features for merchants. Through these features, merchants will be able to leverage loyalty programs or provide consumers with special offers. The fact that Droplet is fee-free is also expected to attract a great deal of attention from London’s merchants.

Mobile commerce applications gain more popularity in the UK

| February 21, 2013

Mobile Commerce UK GrowthData shows UK Android users are enchanted by mobile commerce apps

There was a time when mobile games and other entertainment applications were exceedingly popular among Android users. New data from Nielsen, a leading information and analysis firm, shows that this is no longer the case, at least in the United Kingdom. According to Nielsen, mobile commerce and banking applications are now the most popular apps with Android users. Seven of the top 15 major applications in the UK market have to do with mobile commerce in some way, with some of the most used apps coming from Tesco, Amazon, and Quidco.

Consumers show strong interest in shopping from their smart phones and tablets

Mobile commerce has grown to become a very powerful force in the mobile space. Consumers all over the world have been showing interest in using their mobile devices to purchase products of all kinds. Mobile commerce is especially popular in retail, where companies like Tesco have been working to engage mobile consumers for years. According to Nielsen, Tesco’s application saw more than a 145% spike in new users between May and October of 2012. Those using the application spent 45% more time engaged with the retailer during the same period.

Banks and telecoms account for many popular applications

Many of the mobile commerce applications that have become popular with UK consumers come from the country’s banks and telecommunications companies. Banking applications have been included in Nielsen’s data because mobile commerce does not exclusively refer to the practice of purchase a product using a smart phone or tablet. Rather, mobile commerce is any form of commerce conducted through the use of a mobile device, banking and shopping included.

Mobile games win in consumer engagement

Despite mobile commerce applications becoming so popular among Android users, many consumers are still showing strong interest in mobile games. Nielsen’s data shows that mobile games accounted for the most time spent on smart phones and tablets among consumers. While these applications may have been beaten out by mobile commerce in terms of growth, they are still soaking up the majority of a consumer’s time through engagement.